1963 Brynderwyn bus accident

The 1963 Waitangi Day celebrations in Waitangi, Northland, were attended by Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh. A bus was chartered by the Māori Affairs Department to carry 35 passengers to and from the celebrations. All of the passengers were Māori from the wider Auckland area, many from the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara iwi. Some were part of a kapa haka delegation that performed for the Queen at Waitangi. The bus, owned by Waikato Services Ltd., was driven by 46-year-old Harold Parker. ==Accident==

The bus departed Paihia on the morning of 7 February. The accident occurred after 1:00 pm, when the bus was traversing the Brynderwyn Ranges section of State Highway 1, between the towns of Waipu and Kaiwaka. The bus had just finished a break at the summit of Pilbrow Hill. As the bus started to descend down the southern face of the hill, the service brakes on the bus failed. Following this, Parker attempted to steer the bus through the remainder of the downhill section. The bus left the road on the final bend of the hill, plummeting some 30 m down the valley of the Piroa Stream. ==Aftermath and legacy==

The Snelling family, who owned a farm nearby and had heard the accident, were the first to reach the wreckage. Another person later died from their injuries, resulting in a death toll of 15. Seeing the difficulty that the communities had in arranging the tangi, Holyoake and Nash agreed to co-fund a marae in the area. A memorial stone was unveiled at the scene location on 7 February 2003, on the 40th anniversary of the accident. ==References==